"Whenever physical hunger turned cruel against me, I found my gratification in prayer. Whenever the biting cold of winter was unkind to me, I found my warmth in prayer. Whenever people were harsh to me (and their harshness was severe indeed) I found my comfort in prayer. In short, prayer became my food and my drink, my outfit and my armor, whether by night or by day." Fr. Matta El Meskeen (Matthew the Poor)

Monday, August 1, 2016

Challenges of A Psychotherapists

"In my early professional years I was asking the question: How can I treat, or cure, or change this person? Now I would phrase the question in this way: How can I provide a relationship which this person may use for his own personal growth?" - Carl Rogers.

I have had many people ask me about what I do in the hospital and I have posted previously (scroll down in the older posts) about my role as a chaplain. Another role that Chaplains have or another hat we wear is the hat of a Psychotherapist. Psycho what? Yep! Psychotherapist!

Thinking about seeing a therapist but confused about the different titles? Psychiatrist, psychologist, psychoanalyst, psychotherapist. Point being is that there are a lot of psychos in the world :) So what is a Psychotherapist?

A Psychotherapist is really an umbrella term for any professional who is trained to treat people for their emotional problems. Depending upon their academic degree and clinical training, a Psychotherapist can be a Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Social Work, or Chaplain (among others), and work with individuals, couples, groups, families, communities to help navigate them with the emotional distress present. We use many different techniques to assess and provide different interventions. Many models of assessment and interventions are present so I won't unpack them all here but I would like to touch upon one point; the challenges a Psychotherapist faces. Our work can be demanding and sometimes we don't see "results" (whatever that means) immediately. According to Joyce Marter, a Psychotherapist, she believes the challenging to maintain a happy medium between letting clients rinse and repeat unhealthy patterns can be a challenge:

One of the
most challenging aspects of conducting therapy is finessing the balance between
meeting clients where they are at and also encouraging them to grow. I believe
we all unconsciously recreate patterns in our life that are familiar to us as a
way of working through our issues.

When a
client presents for therapy, I will honor their emotional experience and
reflect empathy as a way for them to express and release feelings that may be preventing
them from moving forward. I will gently but directly encourage them to identify
themes and patterns in their life that are no longer working for them.

When
clients are ready to make positive change[s] in their lives, they will learn
from these insights and empower themselves to choose roles and relationships
that promote wellness, happiness and success in their lives.

However,
sometimes we need to repeat these patterns over and over until we are ready to
look within ourselves and make the changes. It is difficult when clients focus
on others (who they cannot control) and continue to cycle in a way that is
self-limiting.

It is at
these times that I need to practice healthy detachment with love–the ability to
unplug from my clients’ stuff and understand that they are exactly where they
should be in their journey and they will make positive changes only when they
are ready.

I often
refer to the Serenity Prayer, which is, “God, grant me the serenity to accept
the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can and the
wisdom to know the difference.” This reminds me that I should focus on
everything that is within my power as a therapist, such as providing empathy,
compassion, insight, interpretations, coaching on how to change self-talk and
perspective, and increase copings skills and awareness through
psycho-education.

I need to
continually remind myself to let go of that which I cannot control, such as the
clients’ responses, behaviors, progress, etc. I remember when I was in graduate
school, a beloved professor of mine said, “Joyce, you are very good at being
empathic and breathing people’s stuff in. You need to remember to breathe it
out.” Her words were very wise and I reflect on them daily as I continue to
grow as a clinician.

Creating positive change is taxing on the people you provide support to. And, naturally, it is also emotionally draining for clinicians. Christian Hibbert, a clinical Psychologist and postpartum mental health expert, tries her best to prevent emotional overwhelm as she summarizes in the following:

For me,
the toughest part about doing therapy with a client is ensuring I do not get
consumed with the emotional drain. I strive to be fully present with my
clients, to listen carefully and feel what they are feeling. Empathy and
connection in the therapeutic relationship is key to helping the client make
change, and it is rewarding to get to know these wonderful people in such a
deep and intimate way.

However,
it can also be very draining. I used to work longer days and I would come home
depleted, with little left for my family’s needs. But now I work shorter days,
which helps keep my energy levels up.

I also
prepare myself before sessions through deep breathing and visualization
techniques that help me feel prepared to be with my clients, to empathize and
feel with them while they’re there with me, but to also leave it all in my
office when I go home.

I don’t
let the emotional experiences “stick” to me like I used to, and that makes
doing therapy so much healthier for me, which makes me a better psychologist
for my clients.

This was just a tad bit of what a Psychotherapist is and what it is that we do. Our work can look different depending on the place of work and the environment we find ourselves. However, one thing is certain with all Psychotherapist; the care of the human being is what pushes us to be present with everyone we come into contact with!